FRANCE Law and Practice Contributed by: David-James Sebag, Donald Davy and Marie-Sophie Chevreteau, Gide Loyrette Nouel
Gide Loyrette Nouel 15 rue de Laborde 75008 Paris France Tel: +33 (0)1 40 75 60 00
Email: info@gide.com Web: www.gide.com
1. Trends 1.1 VC Market
1.2 Key Trends The following key trends were observed in 2024: • an increase in distressed fundraising, with historical investors requesting either a multi - ple on their liquidation preference (2x or even 3x) or an upgrade of their historical shares into the newest class of shares; • a concentration of the number of large rounds (over EUR50 million) and late-stage financ - ings, reflecting VC’s focus on profitability; • stability in the number of early-stage financ - ings (pre-seed and seed), which remain dynamic; and • confirmation of the shift in key industries: AI, data and greentech, with a continuing decline in life science and internet services. France remains the main VC market in Europe, ranking ahead of the UK and Germany. US inves - tors continue to lead foreign VC investments in French tech. In light of a globally subdued market for VC investments, valuation has declined, raising interest among VC investors in start-ups show - ing EBITDA and aggressive liquidation prefer - ences.
Mirroring 2023, fundraisings on the French mar - ket in 2024 were stable (723 versus 715) repre - senting a total of EUR7.77 billion (compared with EUR8.3 billion the year before). Landmark 2024 venture capital (VC) transactions included: • Mistral AI (EUR600 million in Series B,
EUR385 million in Series A); • Poolside (USD500 million); • Electra (EUR304 million); • HR Path (EUR250 million); and • HysetCo (EUR200 million).
Some new unicorns emerged on the French tech market, notably Pennylane (with a EUR150 mil - lion Series B fundraising) and Pigment (with a USD145 million Series D fundraising). 2024 was a slower year in terms of exits (353 vs 405 in 2023), but also saw some significant deals such as the purchase of Neoen by Brook - field (LBO). Finally, 2024 was a good year in terms of value for IPOs (EUR754 billion vs EUR291.3 billion the previous year), with five listings.
189 CHAMBERS.COM
Powered by FlippingBook